That which takes you across

I received the mantra that I meditate with from my teacher about 25 years ago. At that time the calmness, clarity, focus, and the experiences that most people had in meditation eluded me. It took about two years of a fairly regular meditation practice for me to start experiencing all those things. When I talked to a swami or yoga monk about what I was experiencing he told me that it was a sign that I was doing something right, to not think too much about it, and to keep meditating. That made me laugh but I did keep meditating with the mantra that I was given.

The mantra has been my companion through love, anger, heartbreak, heart openings, many long drives in the freeways of California, bike rides, yoga classes, arguments, tears, bliss, boredom, subway rides, walks in the woods, standing in line at the market, and when I crossed the George Washington bridge for the first time. The list goes on and on. Most recently it was with me when I had to be inside an MRI machine for almost an hour last year. I remember holding on to the mantra was extremely difficult but I kept repeating:

Om Namaḥ Śivāya

I honor the one who is auspicious, compassionate, the bestower of happiness, the conqueror of death, the most easily pleased, the one who pervades all, the one who is inside my very self.

This month I am contemplating sacredness. In the tradition that I follow, this coming Thursday March 11th is a sacred and auspicious night to repeat the mantra Om Namaḥ Śivāya. One of the meanings of the word mantra is "that which takes you across", "that which helps you to move through the ocean of life itself". I know that not everyone observes this day like I do but I would like to invite you to contemplate and think about the things that you consider sacred. What are the sacred things that have been with you through thick and thin, What are the things that have taken you across thus far.

See you all in class.

Blessings

Jorge Nihal